There was a time
"We have noticed an error which all journalists seem to make. Whether from mistake or ill-intention, we are unable to say, but the profession universally begins Negro with a small letter. It is certainly improper, and as no one has ever given a good reason for this breach of orthography, we will offer one. White men began printing long before Colored men dared read their works; had power to establish any rule they saw fit. As a mark of disrespect, as a stigma, as a badge of inferiority, they tacitly agreed to spell his name without a capital. The French, German, Irish, Dutch, Japanese, and other nationalities are honored with a capital letter, but the poor sons of Ham must bear the burden of a small n.
"To our Colored journalistic brothers we present this as a matter of self-interest. Spell it with a capital. To the Democratic journals we present this as a matter of good grammar. To the Republicans [the party to which most Blacks were allied at the time] we present it as a matter of right. Spell it with a capital. To all persons who would take from our wearied shoulders a hair's weight of the burden of prejudice and ill will we bear, we present this as a matter of human charity and beg you SPELL IT WITH A CAPITAL."
| Glen Ford's Black Agenda Report (via Dissident Voice) dispatch "James Brown: The Man Who Named a People" quotes "Black lawyer Ferdinand Lee Barnett, founder of the Chicago Conservator. In 1878, the newspaper’s first year of operations, Barnett wrote an editorial titled, 'Spell It With a Capital.'"
posted in articles on January 8, 2007 12:01 AM | t (0)
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